Apparatus for vacuumizing and gassing cans



July 15, 1930. I J. M. YOUNG 1,770,330

I APPARATUS FOR VACUUMIZING AND GASSING CANS Filed Dec. 51, 1924 2sheets'sheet 1 W INVENTOR. I BY WI WA TTORNE K3 July 15, 1930. J. M.YOUNG 1,770,380

AFPARATUS FOR VACUUMIZING AND GASSING CANS Filed Dec. 31, 1924 2Sheets-Sheet 2 fi'gIZ 2;

INVENTOR. 7;; I By v r W A TTORNE Y5 Patented 1 5, 1930 I UNITED STATESPATENT mm) JOHN mroune, or naooxmm, new Yoax, assreuoa mo amnarcan cancomrm,

' or new YORK, 11. Y., .a coaronurou on NEW master APPARATUS FORVAGUUMIZING AND GA SSING CANS Application filed December 81, 1924.Serial Nof759,192.

This invention relates to apparatus for removing air from filledcontainers and substituting therefor an inert preservmg gas.

'Amethodcommonly employed for vacuumizing and gassingfood containersconsists in the introduction of the preserving gas into the vacuumizedspace within the container.

The apparatus used for this purpose in the past has depended u on thepressure of the its surrounding atmosp ere acting upon the vacuum bellafter a rarefied air condition has been created in the chamber to holdsaid bell firmly upon its seatand to establish a seal be-.

. tween the outside atmosphere and the space within the chamber. As thegas is introduced into the chamber, however, the difference inpressure'is lessened, so that the seal becomes less effective and may.be broken if no --other sealin means than the outside atmos- D phericpressure be employed.-

' Itisan important object of my invention, therefore, to provide, forthe purpose stated, sim le and efiicient mechanical means for hol ingthe vacuum bell down upon its seat,

thereby rendering it unnecessary to depend upon atmospheric pressuresolely to maintain a proper seal between themterior and'ex terior of thebell chamber. Another object'of the invention is the provision of aneasily controllable and quickly operable device, of improvedconstruction,

for quickly and efliciently performing the operations involvedin theprocess described.

7 Numerous other objects and advanta es of the invention will beunderstood fromthe ollowing description,

which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses apreferred embodiment thereo e 1 J Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 isa perspective view of an apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is afront-to-back vertical sectional view thereof, certain of the partsbeing shown in section and acontainer being positioned apparent as it isetter atable 11, supported upon legs 12 arising from a base 13,'saidtable 11 being formed to support the container 'to be gassed and the vvarious parts of the mechanism employed in the process. A countersunkseat 14 is provided in the top of the table for the container 15, whichmay-be positioned by hand, or by any suitable feeding mechanism, itbeing understood that said containerhas been previously filled and, inaccordance with usual practice,has one and open, the cover or upper endbeing subsequently applied. Inasmuch as the gas is heavier than theatmosphere, it will not be lost'within the period'of time necessary totransfer and close the can. Surrounding the seat 14 is a'ring, orwasher, 16', which is positioned in an annular groove 17 and is formedof rubber, or likere- 76 silient material, the upper surface of saidring beingflush with, the top of the table. 'A bell 18 is provided toclose down over the container and provide an enclosed space fromwhichthe air .may be withdrawn and into so which the gas may beintroduced in accord-, ance withthe process for Which.the appa--.

. ratus .of my iigvention is provided. Said bell has a 'rearw'arextension 19, which is hinged by means of a pin 21 to spaced uprightlugs 22, formed upon the rear edge'of the table 11. A'counterweight 23is secured to the rear of the extension ,19 by means of a threaded rod24 and is adapted to facilitate movement of the bell 18 about the pivotpin 21. A gauge 25 is provided upon the top of the bell or the p rposeof indicating the pres-, sure within the chamber.

An operating handle 26 is ivoted at 27 to outstanding lugs 28 upon theront of the bell and is providedwith a'downwardl'y extending hook 29,adapted to engage a catch 31 extending upwardly above the table 11'atthe front thereof. Said catch is slidably mountedin an opening 32 in thetable and has a rod por- 00 the position shown in Fig. 2, communicationerator may lower the bell 18 by means of the handle 26, said bell havinga channel 41 formed in the bottom edge thereof and said edge beingadapted to tightly engage and slightly imbed itself in the annulargasket 16. As the handle is moved downwardly, the hook 29 thereon iscaused to engage the catch 31, which is slightly lifted against thetension of the spring 37, thus holding the bell down tightly against itsseat and maintaining a proper seal at all times between the interior andexterior thereof. A spring 42 has its opposite ends disposed in recesses43 and 44 provided, respectively, in an upwardly extendin lug 45 on thehandle and the front of the ell.

After the bell is closed down and locked in.

may be established between the interior of said bell and a vacuumsource, such as a vacuum pump, or tank, which has not been shown in thedrawings. This is accomplished by manipulation of a. control lever orhandle 46, which is pivoted upon a stud 47 depending from the lowersurface of the table 11. Said lever is provided with a raised boss 48,adapted to engage a stem 49 of a valve 51, which is connected, by meansof an elbow 52 with a pipe 53 leading to the vacuum source, the oppositeside of said valve communicating through a tubular extension 54 and anopening 55in the table with theinterior of said bell. The tubularextension 54 is threaded into the under side of the table and the valvethus supported.

vAfter sufficient-air has been exhausted, as

indicated by the gauge, 25, the lever'46' is turned upon its pivot topermit the valve, which maybe of well known self-closing construction,to close and a head 56 upon an extension 57 ofsaid lever is broughtinto" contact with a stem 58 of a valve 59 which controls "the admissionof gas delivered through a pipe 61 from any suitable source,

said valve 59 being similar in construction to thevalve 51 and havin acorresponding tubular extension 62 threa ed into the under side of thetable. A tube 63 isthreaded into an, opening 64 in the table at thisside and extends upwardly to adjacent the top of the can, so that the gas may be delivered above the open mouth ofthe container and, due to itstendency to settle, will thoroughly fill the vacuumized space withinsaid container. This gas may beany suitable inert preserving as, such,for example, as carbon dioxid. fter a suflicient amount of gas has beenadmitted, the lever 46 may be turned to neutral position, which releasesthe stem 58 of the valve 59, permitting said valve to automaticallyclose, the lever at this time being in contact with both valve stems,but not depressing them sufiiciently to establish communication eitherwith the source of vacuum or the gas supply. By means of the describedapparatus, I am enabled to exhaust the air from a filled container andsubstitute therefor a preserving gas very rapidly andwith semi-automaticaction, the device being at all times under accurate control of theoperator and being adapted for long continued, efficient per-,

formance under ordinary conditions of use.

It is thought that the invention and man'y of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and*arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention, or

sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbeforedescribed being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for vacuumizing and gassing filled cans, comprising asupport for the can,

an enclosing member rotating around a pivotal point and movable downover said can,

a seat uponwhich said member is adapted to rest to seal the interiorthereof against the outside atmosphere, interengageable parts associatedrespectively with said member and said seat and adapted to positivelyhold the same in sealing engagement said parts being engageable in thenormal closing action of said member and a spring placing said enclosingmember under spring tension, and a vacuum pipe for withdrawing the airand means for introducing the gas into the can.

2. Apparatus for vacuumizing and gas- 3' ing air from the can, meansincluding a valve" for introducing gas into said can, and a singlecontrol for both said valves, said control being adapted to hold onevalve closed when the other is'open and having a neutral position withboth valves closed.

3. Apparatus for vacuumizing and gassing filled containers, comprising atable, .a vacuum bell movable down over a can supported on "said tableto enclose the can and lbs 1,77o,sso

sgace. about the can, a. pipe for-withdrawing a r from the bottom ofsaid space, and a. pipe extending up from the table and within the bellfor introducing gas at a substantial hei ht in the space ad acent theopen upper en of the can.

JOHN M. YOUNG.

